Apple on Thursday announced that it has teamed up with payment service PayAnywhere on a new mobile NFC card reader. It will attach to iOS devices, and support both traditional credit cards and those stored within Apple Pay.
The reader, which will be available exclusively in Apple Stores in September, will open the door for smaller businesses to begin supporting Apple Pay. PayAnywhere is easy to setup and there are no monthly fees to worry about.
Apple CEO Tim Cook made a rare move today by responding to an email from CNBC's Jim Cramer. Cook's letter, a copy of which was obtained by Business Insider, addresses the company's quarter so far and basically says that everything's fine with Apple's business and performance in China.
Apple's stock has been declining since the company's June quarter earnings showed iPhone sales coming slightly below investors' expectations. This morning, $AAPL fell below $100 amid bigger stock market woes as most indices are in the red today.
Apple on Tuesday added 18 new banks and credit unions to the growing list of Apple Pay-supporting issuers in the United States. With these additions, Apple Pay is now supported by more than 400 financial institutions nationwide.
Launched in October of last year, Apple Pay is a mobile payment service that allows users to pay for goods and services using iPhone or Apple Watch. It's accepted at hundreds of thousands of retailers and restaurants around the country.
Square updated its Square Cash mobile app today, bringing the iOS client to version 2.8. The release brings about full support for the Apple Watch, allowing users to send money to your friends, family or anyone nearby with just a few simple taps.
For those unfamiliar with Square Cash, it's pitched as one of the easiest ways to send and receive money. It's free for consumers and setup only takes a minute to link up a credit or debit card. Plus, all transactions are protected by 128-bit encryption.
Apple has purchased a massive development site in North San Jose in a blockbuster real estate transaction, reports the Silicon Valley Business Journal. The move comes just weeks after the company leased nearly 300,000-square-feet of office space in the city.
According to public records, Apple closed the deal with developer Lowe Enterprises' for its so-called "n1 Campus" last week. It paid around $138 million for a roughly 43-acre development site, which has been approved for up to 2.8 million square feet of office space.
Apple has posted its third quarter earnings report for 2015 this afternoon, and says it has broken its own record for the three-month period. The company earned a net profit of $10.7 billion on $49.6 billion in revenue.
That money comes from strong international hardware sales, which accounted for 64% of all revenue. Overall, Apple moved 47.5 million iPhones and 10.9 million iPads during its third quarter, as well as 4.8 million Macs.
In response to Apple Music and other competitors, Tidal on Wednesday announced new family plans for its streaming music service. The new plans will allow up to 5 users to enjoy Tidal's Premium and HiFi service tiers at a significant discount from standalone rates.
It works like this: a standalone account for Tidal Premium costs $9.99 per month, and a HiFi account costs $19.99 per month. With family plans, users can add up to 4 additional users to their account at 50% off—$4.99/month for Premium, and $9.99/month for HiFi.
Apple Music launched around the world a few years, and with it comes a lengthy 3-month free trial. But after the trial period is up, you'll be on the hook for $10 per month, unless you turn off auto-renewal. Luckily, as with all iTunes-billed subscription services, this is quick and easy to do.
A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld a 2013 decision finding Apple guilty for conspiring with publishers to raise e-book prices, reports The Wall Street Journal. As a result, the company is expected to pay a $450 million settlement it agreed to with private plaintiffs, 30+ states and the DOJ last year.
“We conclude that the district court correctly decided that Apple orchestrated a conspiracy among the publishers to raise e-book prices,” wrote Second Circuit Judge Debra Ann Livingston. The conspiracy “unreasonably restrained trade” in violation of the Sherman Act, the federal antitrust law, she wrote.
Apple is going to release earnings for its third fiscal 2015 quarter on Tuesday, July 21, according to an update published last evening on the company's Investor Relations webpage. A conference call to discuss third fiscal quarter earnings with Wall Street investors will be taking place on Tuesday, July 21, 2015 at 2pm Pacific / 5pm Eastern Time.
Apple denies claims made by some artists that it's threatening to remove their songs from iTunes if they don't sign up for Apple Music, reports Rolling Stone. A company spokesperson told the outlet that music "will not be taken off" as a result of license negotiations.
The controversy arose earlier this week when Anton Newcombe of psychedelic rock group Brian Jonestown Massacre took to Twitter to complain about Apple and its bullying tactics. "I said what if I say no, and they said we'll take your music off itunes. hard ball?"
Samsung on Wednesday asked the US Federal Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider its decision to uphold a ruling that will cost it $400 million in damages for infringing on Apple's design patents, reports San Jose Mercury News. In a recent court filing, the company asks for a rehearing with a full 12-judge roster, rather than the 3-judge panel the court used last month.
In 2012, a jury ruled that several of Samsung's products infringed on Apple patents, and awarded the iPhone-maker $1 billion in damages. That number has been reduced down to $548 million in various post-trial proceedings, and Samsung is trying to eliminate another big chunk—some $400 million—by getting the verdicts regarding design patent infringement tossed out.